Plateau polls: ADC to conduct primaries in 15 LGAs

By Jude Opara with agency report

The Plateau State chapter of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) says it has successfully conducted party primaries in 15 of the 17 local government areas ahead of the September 9 council elections.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the primaries are part of preparations for the upcoming local government polls in the state.
State ADC Chairman, Mrs. Hanatu Gagara, said the exercise was peaceful across most of the local government areas, except in Mikang and Langtang South where the process did not take place.
Gagara explained that the affected councils were unable to participate because they obtained nomination forms after the deadline had passed.
“What happened was that the two local governments came late to obtain the forms, and by then we couldn’t sell the forms anymore because the time had already elapsed,” she said.
She, however, noted that the situation may still be reviewed following a communication from the Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission (PLASIEC), which recently extended the timeframe for the primaries.
According to her, the party leadership only received the letter from the electoral body on the development and would look into the matter.
Gagara expressed confidence in the party’s chances at the polls, describing the ADC as a strong opposition force in the state.
She said the party had fielded competent candidates for both chairmanship and councillorship positions and pointed to ongoing defections from other parties as a sign of growing support.
The chairman also disclosed that the party’s electronic registration of members was ongoing across the state, urging members to validate their membership.
“Our members are enthusiastic, especially now that they know the congresses are coming up,” she said, adding that registration officials had been deployed to local government areas to continue the exercise.
She encouraged both existing and intending members to visit their wards and local government offices to complete or confirm their registration.